The Sleeping Curse
by awesomekittycat
Summary: Percy and Annabeth are having sleeping issues, meaning they can't fall asleep without being in contact with the other. They are called on a quest by something pink and sparkly. They're quest sends them to a forest preserve that has a civil war brewing and catches them in its drama. But what happens when one little mistake blows away their entire life? Prologue to Betrayed by Home.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone old and new! I'm awesomekittycat, and this is my 7****th**** story. (Gosh, I'm getting old!) This is the prequel to one of my other stories, Betrayed By Home. You can read it or you don't have too, I don't mind. For now, the story will be in Annabeth's POV, but I might switch. Here's the story!  
**"Um. Annabeth?"  
"Yeah, Percy?" I replied to my boyfriend of six years.

"Well, my mom, Paul, and I are going on vacation to Montauk."  
"Oh, cool!"  
"For two weeks."  
"Oh."  
"And, well, I was wondering if you'd like to come along too?"  
"Really?!" I turned to Percy, happy again.

"I'll understand if you don't want to come…" Percy went red, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Percy, of course I want to come!"  
"Really?!" It's his turn to smile.

"Duh, Seaweed Brain."  
Percy laughed and picked me up, swinging me in a circle.

"Oh, and well…we kind of….have to share…a bed." His face was as red as a cherry.

"Percy, we're 22. Mortals move in together at this age. It won't be a problem. We'll behave."

And we did behave. For two weeks, we enjoyed each other's company, going to the carnival some nights, some nights kissing under the stars with the waves lapping at our toes. We did well, not doing anything we shouldn't have.

Well…except one night, when we were high from adrenaline and excitement of the carnival, we took a chance and had a lot of fun that night. Something I'll never regret, no matter what.

When we finally return to camp, it seems slow and people keep butting in our privacy. When we were alone, we were alone. Now, there's always some camper to teach or some satyr who needs our help.

That night, the first night back, I lie in my bed, missing Percy's warmth. I didn't get a wink of sleep that night.

At breakfast the next morning, Percy has dark circles under his eyes.

"You ok?" He asks when he sees me.

"Didn't sleep at all last night. You?"  
"Nope. Not a wink."

At first, I think it's just missing Percy. But now, it's been a week and I haven't slept at all.

"Annabeth, you look really bad. Are you okay?" Piper asks me.

"Tired."  
"Why didn't you sleep?"  
"Couldn't."  
Percy walks up, and it looks as if he's got as much sleep as I've gotten. He hugs me good morning, and as soon as we touch, I fall asleep.

When I wake up, Chiron is standing above us and the camp's in a circle around Percy and I.

"Annabeth, what is the meaning of this?" Chiron asks.

"I…I don't know. I haven't slept since we got back from Montauk. What happened?"  
"Well, it seems that as soon as you and Percy touched, you fell asleep. Any ideas?"  
"None." Percy looks as bewildered as me.

Rachel and a few campers come up.

"Chiron, Percy and Annabeth must go on a quest."  
"What?"  
"I can see it…they're being called to Canada. A…forest preserve? Apparently, they must go there and be tested," Rachel tells him. Chiron contemplates this, stroking his chin.

"Alright. Percy, Annabeth, go pack. You'll leave as soon as you can. Argus will take you to the entrance of the preserve." We do as he says.

Soon enough, we're in the strawberry van heading for Canada. Percy strokes my shoulder. We cuddle, and fall asleep.

**First chapter done! I know that it's a little odd, since their 22. But they were supposed to be younger but in Betrayed by Home, they were 24, and it's two years after this story, so yeah.**

**Please review and tell me what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey again! Thanks for reviews, favs, and follows! It's a good motivation to write! Here's your chapter.**

It takes us a while to drive to Canada, and I'm pretty sure we only stop for gas. I wouldn't know because I slept the whole way. So did Percy. We wake with Argus shaking us awake.

"We're there?" Percy says with a stretch and a yawn.

Argus nods. Percy and I get out of the van and grab our book bags from the back, making sure we have everything. Argus waves and drives away. Percy and I stare at the entrance in awe. It's a really big preserve, with giant trees forming an entrance. I read the sign carefully.

"Let's go!" Percy says, starting towards the arch.

"Wait, Percy!" I grab his arm and haul him back. "Read the sign."  
"Annabeth, I'm dyslexic!"  
"So am I!" He sighs and squints, and it takes him about five minutes to read the sign.  
"It's a forest preserve. Yippee."  
"Underneath the words!"  
"It's just a bunch of mist."  
"Exactly. It's Mist."  
"That's what I said."  
"Look harder."  
"Annabeth—"

"Just do it, Seaweed Brain!"

He sighs, and does as I tell him.

"It says…'Immortals, demigods, monsters, etc, entrance to the left. Huh?"  
"It's a godly forest preserve. They'll have endangered monsters there, along with dryads and nymphs."

"Hmm." I grab his hand and pull him to the second arch, much smaller, but as we pass through, the air is heavy with Mist.

It's fairly empty, with a few dryads darting through trees and watching us. We walk for a while, not knowing what we're looking for.

"So what's the point of this?"  
"We're trying to make it so we can sleep apart again."  
"Maybe we don't need to. Maybe it's a sign."

I shush him and concentrate on the butterfly wafting up to us. I reach out my hand and it lands on it.

"Careful, it could be a butterfly monster." I ignore Percy and use my other hand to rip off a wing. "That was mean!"

"Look, Seaweed Brain." I hold the wing up for him to see. It's sparking and has wires running through it. "It's a camera."  
"We're being watched."  
"Joy."  
We walk a bit more, heading for nothing in particular, then I decide to climb a tree to see if there's anything we should aim for. In the distance, I see a tall, pink palace, looking like it came from a Disney movie. There's mist floating around it, the real kind and the magic kind, and in pink letters above it, it spells out "Your Destination!"

I sigh and start to head down when I hear Percy curse and unsheathe Riptide. He starts fighting something so I drop down and land on a hellhound.

Within seconds, the three hellhounds are dust. Percy and I catch our breath, looking at each other. Then I tell him what I saw, and he curses again.

"Stupid pink."  
"Why stupid pink?"  
"Cuz I can't say what I really want or I'll get blasted into pink Percy hearts." I laugh and he smiles at me.

"We should make camp, I saw the moon come up."  
"Alright, I'll start the fire."  
"I'll set out the bedrolls." We do as we said, and soon we have hot dogs roasting over the fire. We snuggle as we roast.

"I'm glad we're prepared."  
"Yeah, me too. And I'm glad you're here."  
"Ditto."  
"Gah, my hot dog's on fire!" I laugh as Percy frantically blows his hot dog. When he gets done, it's a blackened piece of meat. And it looks really gross. He's crestfallen.

"Here, Percy. If we're Aphrodite's entertainment, we might as well entertain." I hold out the end of my hot dog for him, and we eat it together at separate ends. Then, we lay down on our bedrolls on opposite sides of the fire, when I notice something in a tree. Standing, I pull it down. It's a small, metal canister on a parachute. When I open it, it's full of chocolate cookies.

"What've you got?" Percy asks sleepily.

"Cookies!"  
"Score!" He comes around and snatches one, then returning to the safety of his bedroll. We eat in silence, then lay down to sleep.

For about half an hour, we lay, staring into each other's eyes. It's dark now, and the fire's low, so all I can see in the moonlight filtering through the treetops is the sea green glint of his eyes. Finally, Percy mutters "Screw it" and moves his bedroll by mine. We snuggle, and soon enough we're asleep.

*BACK AT CAMP, A BIT EARLIER*  
Chiron stands in front of a group of assemble demigods.

"Piper, Jason, are you ready?" They step forward and nod, sporting bookbags on their backs.

"Alright. Argus?" Argus motions them into the back of the van and drives away with them.  
Another van pulls out behind them, far enough back not to be seen by the first.

They're both going to the same forest preserve as Percy and Annabeth, with the same curse and same goal.

**So pretty uneventful, I guess. Please review anyway! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! Hope you're having nice days (nights, if that's the time where you are). I'm hoping to get this story up and running.**

I wake up with my face in the crook of Percy's neck. He's still asleep, and he's obviously dreaming. His eyes dart around under his lids and he's breathing heavily.

"No…no…ANNABETH!" He yells, shooting awake. It takes him a moment to get orientated, and I watch him anxiously. Finally, he looks at me, half in and half out of my sleeping bag, wearing a tank top and shorts, shivering in the morning air.

"You okay?" My voice is small.

He smiles. "Yeah." He scoots back to me and puts his arms around me, rubbing slowly to get rid of my goosebumps. We cuddle for a moment before getting up.

While he gets the fire going, I step behind a curtain of leaves, where I am out of view from Percy, and hopefully, any cameras. Just to be sure, I say, "I'm changing, go bother Percy."

After I've changed and peed, I come back.

"What's for breakfast this morning?"  
"Pancakes!"  
"Lovely. Go change and pee, I'll start them." As he walks off, I take out the small packets of sugar, flour, and other baking things and make four pancakes. I'm frying them when I hear a large crack, like a tree branch hitting something.

I put down the collapsible spatula calmly and lunge for my sword, on the other side of the fire. A booted foot kicks me in the side, sending me flying. I look up for the first time to see what we're dealing with.

It's a whole bunch of dryads and nymphs, huge ones, probably because the trees here are so big.

One of them is standing on my sword. Another is pointing a sword at me. And three more are surrounding Percy, one has a knife to his throat, the others holding his arms. There are four more milling around.  
The one standing on my swords grins at me.

"Annabeth Chase. You are trespassing, and therefore, fair game for anyone who wishes to lay down the law, as I, Jenesse, do." She grins again, and I notice she has fangs.

"Mm-hmm, well, personally, I think that you should get your butts out of here as fast as you can. Right, Percy?"  
The one on my sword—Jenesse—laughs at me.

"Oh, he can't talk. I seem to have cracked his jaw. It hurts to twitch it. So, you know, this might hurt a lot." As she talks, she walks over to Percy and punches him in the jaw. He falls to the ground, moaning without moving his mouth. My temper flares, and I don't force it down.

"Last warning."  
Jenesse laughs again. "I'd like to see you do anything against us."

Her lack of concern pisses me even more.

"Oh, yes, we could defeat the _titans_, and the _giants_, but you—seven foot dryads and nymphs—are _terrifying_."

"Good."  
I roll my eyes. "Obviously, sarcasm doesn't mean much to you." Then I charge.

She seems surprised, so she takes a step back, letting me grab my sword. I grab it and roll, thrusting my sword up. She dodges easily, and motions the other four forward. They advance slowly, surrounding me. I risk a glance at Percy, but I can't see him. Jenesse catches my glance. She laughs again, and gestures, causing her troops to allow me to see Percy. One of them has a hand on his jaw, pushing to the side. Percy's eyes are wide and full of pain.

"Drop the sword."  
I resist, and Percy's pushed further. My sword clatters to the ground, rustling leaves.

"Lovely. Kill her."  
Too fast for me to see, before I'm even surrounded, Percy's head snaps back, bashing the one behind him in the chin. She releases him, and his free hand shoots out and punches the one on his other side in the nose, causing her to let go to. He brings his elbow back in a jerk, and the last one gets a black eye, letting go. He grabs his sword and attacks the rest.

As I go for my sword, Jenesse throws a knife at me, missing me by a centimeter. Then my sword is in my hand, and I'm fighting with Percy.

Within minutes, it's over. Percy and I are barely panting, and the only nymph standing here is Jenesse. The others ran off.

"One quick lesson," Percy says, voice rough with pain. "Never—ever—threaten Annabeth in front of me. Not if you value your life." Jenesse snarls, and runs. I whip a knife at her, catching her in the leg. She doesn't stop, just keeps running. Percy watches her as I fly to my pack, grabbing the nectar. He watches me with curious eyes, but I ignore them and shove the mouth of the bottle into his mouth.

"Drink," I command. He swallows four times, then I pull the bottle back, not wanting to risk anymore. He sigh, and rubs his jaw. "Better?"  
"Yes. Just a little sore."  
"How'd they do it?"  
"I was about to change, and they hit me with a really big tree branch."  
"Aw, poor Percy," I crooned, kissing his jaw on both sides. He smiled at me, kissing my nose.

"I'm going to go change for real now, you finish the pancakes." We do as he says, and finish the pancakes quickly. Hand in hand, we head toward the large, pink castle in the distance.

**Yep, I don't think I'm very satisfied with this chapter, but I hope you are. Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm baaaaack! I know you missed me this much:**

Yep. That much.

We eat bread with a lukewarm slice of turkey on it. When we fine a stream, we take the advantage to bathe in our underwear. When Percy closes his eyes and the water pours over him, I find myself unable to tear my eyes away. I'm frozen in place.

"You alright?" Percy asks casually, walking toward me.

"I just…I just really want to kiss you."  
He laughs. "That's not all that's on your mind."  
"Camp rules. No extreme kinds of love. What is on my mind is definitely an extreme kind of love."  
Another laugh.  
"You can have a kiss, though." And he kisses me. He kisses me for so long, I lose sense of where we are, what we're supposed to be doing. I forget who I am, even. I forget everything except Percy.

"Oh, look! A stream! Cool. Want to take a bath?"  
"Maybe. What kind of bath."  
"A bath. Stop winking."

Percy and I break apart, breathing heavily. I reach for my weapons, to find they're on the others shore with our clothes.

"Weapons, Percy."  
"We're in a river, Wise Girl. I happen to be able to control every kind of water."

We freeze when the voices start up again.

"Dang! We were supposed to stay undetected!"  
"Who do you think it is?"  
"Percy, Wise Girl? Are you even awake?"  
"I was testing you."  
"They all say that."  
"Who's they?"

I stare at Percy. I can imagine the faces belonging to the voices, one pouty and the other pretending to be angry.

"It's Piper and Jason!"  
"Yep."  
I raise my voice. "Guys? You might want to come out here! We know you're there!"

A bush shakes, and I can barely detect voices. Percy, being so patient as he is, beckons with his hands. A wave erupts, washes ashore, and when it comes back, it has two demigods in its grasp.

"Fancy meeting you here," Piper says, conversationally.

"What are you doing here?"  
"Oh, sightseeing."  
"Right. Sightseeing in such way that you couldn't be detected."  
"Um, yeah."  
"Piper, drop the act. They ought to know," Jason says, helping her up. She sighs, defeated.

"Fine. But Mother is going to be so disappointed."  
"Explain."  
"Well, Mother was bored. So she cursed you, with some help, and then set up this elaborate game. We're supposed to make it to her castle alive."  
"Really?"  
"Yup."  
"Hmm…" I put a finger to my chin for a moment. Absently, I scratch my back, which was itchy.

"I—" Another itch. "Huh." I twist around, trying to see. "Percy, do you think I have poison ivy?" He shrugs, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Anyway, are we supposed to team up or is like a race? Because—" Another itch! I scratch furiously.

"Um, you okay?" Jason looks a little concerned.  
"Yep. Just a little itchy."  
"So, I don't know about the race thing. I guess we can team up, it'll increase our chances."

I feel another itch this time, except it's longer and sends chills up my back. With a start, I realize it's a finger.

"I guess we should. I like not dying."  
Suddenly, Percy smacks me.

"Ow!"  
"There's a bug! I didn't get it."  
"Hmm." He goes for a another swing. Not to be beaten, I grab it before he can get me, and twist under it, hopping onto his back. Piper and Jason have respectfully turned around. I squirm up, my legs holding tight around his waist and my arms on his shoulders.

"You hit me."  
"Yes," He says, glancing at my legs. I smirk, then run a finger from his collarbone to his earlobe.  
"An itch," I whisper in his ear. He swallows. I fight back giggles. "You're silly, Percy. I will always win." My lips are almost touching his ear. He blinks a bunch as my warm breath hits his ear. "An _itch_," I say with my lips right on his ear.

"Yep. An itch…I'm sorry? Really, I was just testing the…the whole…" He swallows as I play with his hair.

"The whole what?"  
"The…the whole Aphrodite thing…" I giggle, and see the sides of his eyebrows shoot up.

"You're toying with me!"  
"Sure I am."  
Without warning, he falls backwards. The water is very shallow, so I can lay down and the water barely laps the back of my ear. My legs, however, are fully submerged. Percy's flipped himself over, and he's caged me in. His closeness causes my breath to hitch in my throat. He smiles.

"You were toying with me. Lets see, we were…this close?" He leans in further.

"And you did a little…of this?" He runs a light finger from my earlobe to my collarbone.

"Did you? Shall I try again?" He does it again and I shiver. "That's a yes, isn't it?" Then he leans closer. "Was next? This?" He's so close. "And you whispered in my ear…" I can almost feel his lips. Then they're on my ear. "You thought you'd win."  
He pulls back slightly, shifts his weight, and starts playing with my hair.  
"I can do this all day, Annabeth. Just tell me what you want."  
I try to resist, but he's too close. I can smell him, I can sense him.

"What do you _want_, Annabeth?" He's dropped my hair and leaned in again. "What do you want?"  
I try. Really, I do. But… I can't resist.

"This," I breath out, grabbing his head with both hands and pulling him down. His lips meet mine, and I melt.

**This chapter has satisfied me. Really has. Very romantic. Oh, and we met Jasper again! But what about the third van…?  
Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm back! Didja miss me? Yep, you did.**

I could have laid there all day, kissing Percy in the water, but Jason clears his throat, and we break apart, breathing hard. Percy winks at me, and I blush from my collarbone to the top of my head.

"Nervous?" He whispers in my ear, and I glare at him. He smiles, and I have to fight with myself not to kiss him some more.

We quickly get our clothes on and head out with Jason and Piper. As we walk, we tell them about our encounter with Jenesse. They look troubled.

"Sounds dangerous…have you talked to any other dryads or nymphs?" Jason asks.

"Nope. We've seen them, but…that's it."  
Suddenly, we hear something—something big—crash behind us and a girl's scream. Without waiting for the others, I sprint toward the sound, my hands going to my weapons. When I get there, there's a Komodo dragon laying on it's side with a wooden arrow in it's belly, in between a chink in it's armor. As I look at it, a dark hand appears on the side of it, then another. Then a curly brown head. Finally, I find myself looking into the golden eyes of Hazel Levesque.

"Hazel? What are you doing here? What's wrong with Frank?"  
"Dryads. Do you have some nectar? I already fell and twisted my ankle, and used most of it. That's why he was flying." She sounds miserable, so I force Frank's jaw open and make him drink. Hazel carefully pulls out the arrow and inspects it. "Poison," She says grimly.

"Annabeth!" Percy runs into the clearing, followed by Piper and Jason. "What were you—Hazel?"  
"Hi, guys."  
"Frank?"  
"Mmmrph," The dragon groans, standing.  
"He can't turn back into a human while he's hurt."  
"It'll probably be alright tomorrow morning," I tell her.

"Thanks, Annabeth."  
We start to walk again, and Frank puts his shoulder down for Hazel, who limps every step.

"No, Frank. You're hurt…" The dragon rolls his eyes, which is pretty cool to see. "Fine." Hazel climbs onto his back.  
We walk for a while, and eventually it's to dark to see the trees around us. (We found this out when we heard a large thunk, and Percy saying ouch).

"I'll do the fire," I say. Piper makes hamburgers, and we eat them in silence.

"Annabeth, what's on your head?" Jason asks, squinting in the dim light. I look up to see another canister, like the one we got the cookies in, floating above in my head. I grab it and open it. There's a note on top.

"Dear Percabeth, lovely performance earlier. Well, it wasn't a performance, was it? I could tell you enjoyed it. Sweet dreams! Aphrodite," I read. Under the note are fresh, warm brownies. I give them out.

"This feels like the Hunger Games," Piper says, glumly. I nod.

After the brownies are gone, I snuggle up against Percy's chest. He's taking watch for the first half of the night, then Jason. Piper lays down with him, and Hazel half-leans onto Frank's chest.

Within moments, I am asleep, with Percy's heartbeat in my ear and his fingers in my hair.

When I wake up, Percy's asleep and Jason's awake. Hazel now leans on Frank's human form, and Piper's got her head in Jason's lap.

"Percy," I say. The left side of his mouth goes up, and murmers, "Annabeth…love you."  
"Love you too, Seaweed Brain. But wake up." His eyes open slowly, blinking.

"Five more minutes."  
"No." I roll away from him and he gives me a cross look, then starts to stalk me on his hands and knees. I hold back a giggle, and scramble backwards. Eventually, though, I hit a tree trunk. Percy comes forward, braces his arms on the tree around me, and leans in. I close my eyes…and feel his exhale on my lips. When I open my eyes, he's grinning at me. I pout, he laughs, stands, and walks away, so I cross my arms over my chest and glare at the back of his head. He must feel it, because he turns.

"Oh, Annabeth. If you're going to be rude, then you get no kisses."  
"But you don't have to tease."  
"Come on," He laughs. I glare at the ground and hear him sigh. Next thing I know, his finger's on my chin, pushing it up.

Dang those gorgeous sea green eyes. They're pleading with me, and wherever I look, they're there, pulling me back. Finally I sigh.

"Fine."

He grins, and holds out his hand. "I knew the baby-seal face would work."  
"You still don't get any kisses."  
"Who doesn't get kisses?" Piper is awake and stretching.

"Oh, Percy's being a jerk and not letting me kiss him, and so I'm not letting him kiss me."  
"I'll last longer."  
"No you won't"  
"I bet I can beat both of you!" Piper excitedly interjects. "Jason, no kisses until Percy or Annabeth cave in. You either, Hazel and Frank."  
They look slightly confused, so I let Piper explain it and set some waffles over the coals.

"What's the prize?"  
"Prize?"  
"Well, I need something to think about if I'm not going to kiss Hazel for a while," Frank tells us.

"Chocolate chip cookies."  
"Yum!"  
"You're on!"  
I go to change, and Percy follows me.  
"Annabeth…"  
"What?"  
"I want a kiss!"  
"PERCY LOSES!" I shout at the top of my lungs. He glares at me.

"DOES NOT! I DID NOT ATTEMPT A KISS!"

I give him a glare, and he mutters, "I don't want a kiss anymore," and leaves, grumpy.

Part of me wants to run after him and kiss him as hard as I could. But I hold myself back, because I really want more of those cookies.

**Yay! Who do you guys think will win? Who will lose? It's very intense.**

**I also have a request for you! Who here didn't like the PJO movies? I didn't! Actually, I despised them. With burning hatred. Anyway, here's the link to an online petition for remaking the movies!**

** p/dreamworks-to-re-make-the-percy-jackson-movies**

**Hopefully it will work! I'll try and put it on my profile too, or you could just google PJO movie petition.**

**Please sign it, tell your buddies, put it on your profiles and stories! Then we could have movies that go off of the books, instead of having a director who never read the books!  
Okay, thanks, please review, sign the petition!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Am back! Hope you like this chapter!**

When breakfast is over, we start to walk. And walk. And walk.

"My feet are going to fall off," I grumble. Percy looks back at me and grins. He stops, so I catch up to him and take his hand. This is usually the part when we kiss, but I hold myself back.

_Chocolate chip cookies_, my brain says firmly.

_Kisses_, my heart says.

_COOKIES!  
Soft, happy, kisses with just you and Percy, alone in a room, to do what ever…_

_cookies?_

I quickly let go of Percy's hand, earning a questioning look. "Something wrong?"  
"My heart is battling my head—kisses or cookies." He grins at that.

"Want to know a secret?" He pulls me in with one arm and whispers in my ear, "I'll share my cookies with you in secret. Just one of us has to win…"  
"We have to get them to kiss," I whisper.

"How?"  
"Hmm…" I think it over as we trek on.

"Okay, here's the plan," I whisper to him. He smiles as I explain it, and has to clap a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Hazel and Frank look back questioningly, and I jog up to them.

"Guys," I say to them. "Piper and Jason have already kissed."  
"Seriously?"  
"Yeah. So us four are going to kiss at the same time, to share the cookies. I'll yell now."They nod excitedly, and I jog up to Piper and Jason.

"Guys, Hazel and Frank have already kissed."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. So I'm going to yell Now, and the four of us will kiss at the same time, so we can share the cookies." They agree easily, and I fall back to Percy.

"NOW!" I yell. Hazel and Frank kiss, and Piper and Jason kiss. Percy and I stand there, smirking. When they finally break apart, they look confused.

"Fooled you. Cookies for us!" I say gleefully, grabbing the cookies and wolfing them down with Percy. The other four gape at us.

"But…what…how?"  
I point to myself and smirk again. "Athena child."

Suddenly, we hear a large boom ahead of us. We run towards it to see a large tree on it's side. Two woman argue while one lays on the ground, unmoving. Percy and I run to the arguing two while to others go to the aid of the fallen girl.

"Jenesse." The name is bitter in my mouth as I approach one of the arguers.

"Hello, dear. How are you doing? Wonderful."  
"What did you do?"  
"Oh, you know, just causing Chaos. Always fun!" The other dryad scowls. "Stop hurting my people! Mya might not live!"  
"That's the point, princess." Jenesse says the title as one might say dead cockroach in my mouth.

"Stop. I forbid you."  
"Right, because I'm going to listen to you now. I have more business to attend to. Cherio!" With that, Jenesse disappears. The other girl—the princess—scowls.

"She's always wrecking havoc. It's hard to keep peace with her and her goons causing trouble." She continues to grumble as she inspects Mya.  
"Mya…"  
"Princess…I'm sorry. Maybe I'll follow the legend."  
"I doubt it, Mya. You did nothing wrong."  
"Yes…well, at least I'll get to be a nice flower or something…" Then with a peaceful exhale, Mya dissolved into green mist, leaving only a single red rose. We're quiet for a second.

"What legend?" Percy asks. The princess scowls.

"Here in this forest, we hamadryads pass down a legend that the dark that lurks here will be defeated when someone wrongs others, and dies for it." The princess looks over her shoulders, anxious. "I mustn't dwell here. Be safe, demigods. Beware Jenesse and her followers." With that, the princess disappears into green mist, taking the rose with her.

"I didn't know that dryads had princesses," Percy comments as he we continue to walk, conflicted with what we just saw.

"Some do, in forest preserves like this."  
"Huh."  
We continue to walk until night falls, where we make glum camp and go to sleep pretty quick.

Except I don't. I think about the princess, who stood up to her people and held strong. She reminds me of me, with her short blonde hair. But her eyes are green, bright, cheerful green that would sparkle if she was in a better mood. I lay awake for a long time, thinking of forest politics and stupid, meddling dryads who's names rhyme with Tenesse.

**Yep, there you go. Hope you enjoyed, please tell me if you did or didn't!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm back! Sorry if you got a chapter before, it was for a different story and I was rushing and accidently posted it here. But no one noticed!  
**"Annabeth," I hear. I slowly open my eyes to see Percy smiling at me.

"What?" I say, crossly.

"You're beautiful."  
I sit there for a second, staring at him.

"That's all." And he lays down again and closes his eyes. Astounded, I stare at him for a while.

"You're perfect," I tell him. He smiles, and I lay across his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

When we wake up later, it feels like we have a secret. Sideways glances, suppressed giggles, even the occasional wink. It takes me back to that one night, on vacation…

"Whoa." Frank's voice brings me back to present. I stop, shake my head, and asses my surroundings. It's scary.

We're standing in front of a grove of large trees, closer together than the other trees we've seen. But the trees are dark—the leaves are dark purple, blue, and even a few black. The trunks are dark brown, with a few vein-like black strands running through. And they just seem dark—scary, menacing.

"Let's go," Jason says, confidently. I look at him. "What? They're just trees."  
"We should go around."  
"It'll be faster. Besides, they're just trees." We take a few steps into the grove, and are still alive, so continue. Pretty soon, we're halfway through, in the center of the grove. Percy looks up, gauging the time. "Maybe we should camp here," He says.

"No."  
"Annabeth, what's—"  
"Dear friends," says a voice. We whirl, searching for the source. "You should have listened to Annabeth."  
Then they're around us. Jenesse and her followers, appearing out of thin air—or out of the trees.

"I get to kill you now!" She tells us, gleeful. The army advances, and the six of gather close, forming a circle. Weapons are out. And with a few hisses, shouts, and snarls of disgust, we clash.

They outnumber us by at least twenty, and that's just who's attacking us. Others mill around, chatting, placing bets. This makes me so angry, that they're just dismissing this, I stop wounding and start killing. I duck under the sword of the dryad I'm fighting, thrust my sword under her ribcage, and swing it through her body into another dryad. Then I vault off of her fallen body and plunge my sword into the back of another one. The surrounding dryads stop talking and shift from playful to furious. I roll my eyes visibly, duck, and slash up, killing another that was sneaking up behind me. I eventually lose sense of myself, feeling just the sword and the air, slashing and stabbing, killing. Dryads fall and fall, and I am aware of nothing until one thing pierces through my zone—pain. I cry out and drop my sword, my other hand clutching the top of my arm, feeling the blood flowing. I can tell it's deep, and long. I hear Percy yell defiantly, and he comes to my aid. Helping me up with one hand, the other one still swing Riptide. I grasp my sword again and we make it to the rest of our friends.

"We can't do it now," Percy yells over the sound of the battle. Something that resembles agreeable noises come from them, and Jason extracts himself and comes to stand by Percy. They cross their swords, bronze and gold, gleaming, as it starts to rain. It comes harder and harder, winds buffering us around, and it's really dark know. The battle sounds slowly putter out, and then we're just a circle of demigods, breathing heavilily.

"We have to get out," I say, under my breath. Frank turns into a dragon and breaths fire, scattering some dryads so we have a clear path. Jason and Piper go first, then Percy and me, with Hazel and Frank taking the rear.  
Soon we're clear of the dark trees, but we keep running. The winds and rain die down, until it's dark and clear, the ground squishy under our shoes. We run until it's too dark to see, so we make camp. We don't light a fire, but use flashlights from our tiny stack. My arm is bandaged, Percy and Jason drink some nectar, and I fall asleep, Percy pressed against my side.

**Yeah, so I'm kind of losing inspiration for this story. Any ideas? I'm expecting it to be over soon. Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm back! Thanks for reviews and ideas!  
**"Owww!" I groan, coming awake feeling like I'm drowning. There's pressure on my hurt arm, and it aches.  
"Gods, Annabeth! I'm so sorry!"  
"It's alright, Percy, I'll live."  
"Sorry." I sit up and rub my eyes, looking around. The others are awake, stumbling around, obviously just awake. Percy frowns apologetically at me, and I smile in return and give him a peck on the lips. He sighs slightly and hugs me with one arm, and I let myself be held for a moment, let him hold me, breathing him in. Gently, I extract myself, and look at him sadly.

"Almost there. Then we can—"  
"Move in together."  
"Hmm?"  
"Annabeth, I got an apartment in the city and I want you to live with me. Would you?"  
"I…"  
"If you don't…"  
"But I do. I will."  
"You will?"  
"Duh!" He laughs and kisses me, and I can feel his smile mirroring mine.

We get dressed, eat, and start walking again. We're close to the mountain, I can see without having to climb a tree. My arm is slowly bleeding, and when Percy notices it, he carefully bandages it, his touch sending chills up my spine. He notices my shiver and grins wickedly. Before he can continue to antagonize me, Jason gives a shout.

"Guys! Look at this!" We jog forward to catch up and find what he's looking at.

It's war. There are dryads, nymphs, and other nature spirits yelling, a few fighting. I can see Jenesse and the princess we met earlier shouting at each other. We gather in a small crescent, surveying the scene before us.  
"What do we do?" Frank questions.

"Nectar, Annabeth. We've got to fix your arm or we won't stand a chance."  
"What? Percy, what are you—"  
"Look," He says, pointing with one hand while the other rummages in his bag for nectar. "We've been spotted." I follow his finger and see Jenesse is turned towards us, club pointing as us. She's roaring something unintelligible. Percy hands me some nectar, which I drink quickly, dribbling some on my arm. It closes up for the most part, leaving a tinted pink scar line. I drop the now empty bottle and unsheathe my sword. The others do the same, and I can see Jenesse laughing. Rage bubbles, and I see it in the others, too. We start slowly down the hill to where they are, standing in front of the mountain—which, by the way, looks like it'll be really fun to climb.

Note the sarcasm.

When we reach the level ground, we are met by a crowd of nature spirits, good and evil.

*Please note: The world isn't really split into good and evil. Almost every adventure with Percy has taught me that.

I straighten my shoulders and start forward, staring down the spirits. They part, creating a path for me and my friends. I hope that they're staring some down, too, but I don't turn to look. Once or twice I hear a menacing threat from the dark dryad, answered by a low growl.

We make it to Jenesse and the princess, who're standing on sort of a raised part of the ground. Jenesse is still smiling, and the princess's face is grim and drawn, determined. Once again, I see myself in her.

"Well, well, well. Look who's lived. It was wasted, of course, you'll only die now."  
"Stand down, Jenesse. With these demigods on my side, you'll never win."  
"Oh, but I will. You know it. That's why you are shaking, child."  
The princess looks taken aback, and I interrupt before she gets too mad.

"She's shaking from anger, and sadness."  
"Sadness?"  
"She knows that the waste of life will be terrible, even if they aren't really her people."  
"You're insolent, girl, and stupid."  
"Stupid isn't really _possible_, idiot. I'm a child of Athena. The wisdom goddess. Genius? Yeah. Swordfighting? Yeah. Stupidity? Not a chance."  
Jenesse snarls, about to retort, when Percy butts in again.  
"You forgot several things, Annabeth. Kissing? Yep. Looks? Yep. General awesomeness? Definitely."

Jenesse's face goes red. "How dare you be—be—nothing but cowering on your knees, begging for your lives."  
Percy laughs. "Yeah, well, I've never really been the cowering type. Ten years ago, I was twelve, right? I killed the Minotaur with my bare hands because he threatened my best friend. No training, nothing."  
"You used the horn," Jason points out.  
"Technicalities," Percy says, waving his hand. "The point is, we've been declared the most powerful group of demigods of our time. Of America. Maybe ever."  
"You'd be gods, then," Jenesse hisses.  
"It was offered. And turned down."  
Jenesse goes white. "You turned down immortality?"  
"Yes. Are we done here? We have to go to that castle."  
"No, we aren't done. I'll still kill you, immortality offers or not!" She charges, forcing us to scatter. The troops take that as a signal to attack, and they start fighting with relish. We look uncertainly from the fight to the castle. The princess draws a sword and waves us to the mountain.

"Go. We'll hold them off."  
"You'll never make it!"  
"Then I'll fulfill the prophecy. Go!" The others hesitate for a second, then turn to start scrambling up the castle. As I turn to go, she catches my hand.

"Be prepared, Annabeth. You will be hurt, hurt terribly, but you must remain strong. With your Percy, you will prevail. I know you will."  
"What?"  
"There's no time! Go!"  
"Wait! At least—at least tell me your name."  
She smiles gently, the first smile I've seen.  
"My name is Juli."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello! I didn't leave a note last time so it would be dramatic, and no one reviewed! :( I know that this story isn't my best. Really. I do. But I still appreciate reviews. **

**Also, if you read Betrayed by Home (Also by myself) you will recognize the name. **

We're stumbling up the mountain, cursing with frustration. I glance back once or twice, but it's hard to distinguish anything. Percy and I help each other, reminding me terribly of Tartarus. We come closer and closer to the castle, and I remember Juli's words. With Percy, you will prevail.

If I was going to prevail with anyone, it might as well be Percy.

As if reading my thoughts, Percy comes closer, wrapping his arm around me and kissing my temple softly.  
"You okay?"  
"As much as I can be. That was…that was freaky."

"I know. But hey, we're almost done! Right?"  
"Yep," I say, trying to smile. But something tells me that our battle is far from over.

"Water break!" Jason calls. We collapse, bracing our feet on shrubs and rocks to keep from sliding. The slope is getting steeper as we go, and when we get up reluctantly, it's hard to find footing. We continue to climb, and I think that Jason is giving us support with the wind. We finally, finally reach the top and drag our feet. I look back again, and see fighting. I can barely hear it, just a constant buzz in the back of my mind, almost. Except it isn't in my mind.

"Well…do we knock?" Leo questions, looking at the giant pink door. In response, it swings open.  
"Sure, Leo. Knock," Frank says as we head in. Leo arranges his face into dignity and raps three times on the open door, earning a scatter of applause.

"Great. It's open."  
It's pink and red and white. Everywhere you look, it's like Valentine's Day. There is a single hallway, with a procession of locked doors. So we keep walking, until we reach a dead end.

"Well, this was productive," Percy mutters.

"Maybe…we missed a door?"  
"Nah, we checked them all."  
"There has to be something…anything!" The others wander off, checking the closest doors. I inspect the wall closely, feeling for a notch in the wood, or a groove to signal a secret door.  
"Anything?" Percy says at my shoulder.

"I don't feel anything…oh, wait, I've got it."  
"Huh?"  
"Feel. I don't feel anything too huge right now, because I can't see you, and you aren't touching me."  
"So…" Percy steps around me, coming into my line of view and grinning. I feel the subtle acceleration in my pulse, but instead of trying to calm it, I encourage it to quicken.  
"Yes. Yes, I definitely feel something now," I say.

"And…now? Now?" Percy steps closer, closer and closer. My breath hitches. He's inches from me, but he's carefully holding himself back.

"Um."  
"I take that as a _yes_."

"Shall I come closer?"  
"Duh."  
Percy comes even closer, and I can feel is heat, radiating off of him. He's nervous, I can tell. Usually, I would take advantage of it, but right now, I just want…

Breaking our peaceful silence of staring into each other's eyes, I reach out, grabbing his belt, and jerking him toward me.

"Well, you know what you want," Percy murmurs as I twine my fingers through his hair.

"Do I ever," I say. Then I'm too busy, obviously, engaged in kissing him.

He doesn't hesitate in kissing me back, and slides his hands under my shoulders, lifting me and setting me against the wall, him supporting my. I wrap my legs around his waist to hold on, and he smiles against my mouth. My hands slide down his neck and back up again, and he's got his hands braced against the wall, holding himself up. I hear a rumbling sound, and almost separate from him—but it's not an immediate threat, so who cares?  
But it's the wall we're leaning on, and it slowly slides up, making my shirt slide up in the back. We finally fall, me onto the ground and Percy sprawling on top of me.

"What—what?" Percy splutters, standing up and straightening his clothes. I frown at the ceiling. Absently, he reaches down for my hand, which I grab and fling myself up, spinning to see what he's glaring at.

It's a woman and a man, smiling slightly.

"Well, Aphy, they figured it out."  
"Yes, Hyp, they definitely did! Such a nice show!"  
"_'Aphy_'? '_Hyp'_? What's going on?" Percy asks, reaching over and pulling my shirt down. I shiver, enjoying the sensation of his fingers on my bare back. _Concentrate_, I remind myself. It's hard.

"Well, I am Aphrodite. This is my…friend…Hypnos."  
"Yeah, I got that. I was asking about the nicknames, but the way you said 'friend', I understand now. Please, _please_ do not elaborate."  
"Oh, well, that's _not_ for your ears, young man. And what about your friend, Annabeth? She's very special, hmm?"  
"More than you can imagine."  
"Yes. Keep a firm hold her. You have rough times ahead, make sure you keep together. Your love…sometimes, I watch you two."  
Percy coughs. It sounds like he's calling Aphrodite a stalker.

"It's so pure, so happy, that when I'm a little down—recent divorces, or break-ups, I go to you, and it lights up my world. I believe in the future, I will say: 'Remember Helen and Paris? Remember Annabeth and Percy? Remember me and Hypnos?' and they will all say, Ahh, yes. Such love."  
"Um…"  
"Well, there you go. The curse is removed. But, if I may ask…could you do what you did on vacation a little more? It was blinding, it was so beautiful!"  
Percy's face turns bright red. "That's none of your business!"  
"Oh, I didn't watch, dear! I could just sense the joy and love!" Aphrodite sighs with happiness, then turns away from us and hugs everyone else, giving random fashion tips and blowing kisses. We start edging out, desperate to leave.

"Okay, well, if that's all…?"  
"I believe so!"  
"We'll just be going!"  
"Bye, dears!"  
"Yeah…bye."  
We all turn around, scampering out as fast as we could.

"Oh, Annabeth!" The goddess of love calls. I sigh, turning. The others wait too, probably reluctant to leave anyone alone her.

"Yes?"  
"It's a girl!" She says, pointing to my stomach.  
"What?"  
"Oh, I'm sorry! Was it supposed to be a secret?"  
"What's a girl?"  
"'What's a girl'?!" Aphrodite chuckles. "The baby, of course!"  
**Review! (2nd last chapter!)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi readers! Thanks for reviewing! Last chapter.**

My insides turn to ice.  
"I—wha—"  
"Annabeth, come on!" Percy grabs my arm and yanks me out. The army of dark spirits has started up the mountain, and some have just about reached it. I scan the other side, the good ones, but see no sign of Juli.

"Frank! Jason!" Percy says nervously. Jason grabs Piper and flies off; Frank turns into a dragon and Hazel climbs onto his back. He takes off, grabbing Percy and me in his claws, beating his wings quickly. We take off.

"Percy."  
"I know."  
"I…we…"

"It'll be okay. As long as we're together."

I nod, not trusting myself to speak.

I'm dozing as well as I could, flying as we were, when we reach Camp Half-Blood. Frank lands and turns into an exhausted demigod. Jason and Piper also have landed, and we make a huddle.

"Annabeth…any idea what Aphrodite was talking about."  
"I didn't know…I didn't know I was pregnant…I mean, I guess I should have thought that it could have happened, but I didn't really think that it would."  
"Well…do you think anyone will mind?"  
I give a harsh laugh. "Mind? They have rules. Like, the kind of rules that you get killed or banished if you break them. Included in them is what we did."  
"You didn't do at camp, though. You were on vacation."  
I chew my lip, pondering. "Maybe, but still…they aren't going to care about technicalities. On top of that, everyone knows that Athena and Poseidon can't stand each other. Now they're going to share a grandchild."  
We sit in silence for a while, staring into silence. Then a Leo comes running.

"Annabeth, Percy! Chiron wants to talk to you. Like, urgently. But Clarisse says come talk to her first."  
"Okay, Leo. I'm coming."  
Leo takes a deep breath. "She's in the arena."  
I start off, muttering under my breath angrily. When I reach it, I slam the door open. Clarisse turns around, her face a hard mask of furiousness.

"They're sending you away."  
"I guessed as much."  
"The gods aren't happy. Hera's on a war path."  
"So they'll hunt."  
"Yes. They'll send me."  
"I know. The others, too."  
"No. They know that if they all leave, to support you, the gods will be stretched—trying to find all of you."

"No, I'm not having them do that just for us."  
"Travis, Katie, Connor, Nico, Rachel, and Leo already agreed. I'm sure the other four will."

"You're staying."  
"Someone's got to be able to let you know when they're coming if everyone else leaves."  
I take a deep breath in through my nose. "But—"  
"You can do whatever, Annabeth. I choose this, and the others choose to defend you."  
I clench my teeth. I hate the idea of the others throwing away their lives, just for me.  
"Fine."  
"Good. Chiron's called a meeting. You'd better go."  
"Oh, you think?"

"Later, Chase."  
"Bye, Clarisse."  
Clarisse turns back to her stabbing, and I leave the arena. Percy's waiting, a worried expression on his face.

"Everything okay."  
"No. But eventually. Not today."  
"Hey."  
"What?"  
"Come here."  
Percy draws me in, holding me in his arms and rocking me back and forth. I breath him in, letting myself be safe for a few seconds. Then I draw away, ready to go.

We walk through the cabin circle, seeing people's anxious looks and angry glares from the windows. Katie comes running, holding two suitcases, leading Connor and Travis both carrying two suitcases in each hand.  
"We packed all you bags," She says, breathless. "You four are supporting them, right?" Katie gives Jason, Piper, Frank, and Hazel The Look. They don't flinch, meeting her gaze with one that says _um, duh._

"Good. We'll but them behind Thalia's tree. Make a spectacle, Annabeth. They want fear, surprise, begging for mercy. Don't give it to them."  
"I won't."  
Katie nods. "Bye, guys. See you someday." And she runs off. Travis and Connor do the same, giving nods over their retreating shoulders. It breaks my heart that these are the only good-byes we get.  
I take another deep breath and head towards the Big House. Chiron's waiting, along with other strict rule followers. I meet Chiron's icy gaze with my own impassive face, remembering Katie's advice.

"Chiron. You _called_?" My words lash out at him, hard.

He doesn't flinch. "You know what I want."  
"Oh, yeah." I snort. "You want us to leave, because we did something 'inappropriate.' Well, it was coming anyways."  
"Get out."

"Of where, exactly?" I snarled.

"Of this camp! You and Percy aren't wanted."

"Fine." I turned to the spectators. "Is anyone with us?"

Leo, Piper, Jason, Frank, Hazel. The Stolls. Katie Gardner. Rachel. Nico. They all step forward. Fine. Clarisse nods

I grab Percy's hand and storm away.

But I have to make one last stand, one last remark. I stop, turning. All eyes fall on me.

"For fifteen years, I have called this place my home. Chiron was the closest thing I had to a father. Percy saved all of you, and this is how you repay us. Fine. But if you need a savior, don't you dare come running."  
Chiron looks like I smacked him between the eyes when I said "Chiron _was_". But I ignore it, giving my camp one last look around.  
Then I leave.

**There you go! I hoped you enjoyed this story. I know it wasn't my best.**

**This is when you go read the next story, following the same storyline: Betrayed by Home. I tried to make it a link, but if it doesn't work, it's on my profile.**

**Please review! Bye!**


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